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academes Galacia had to
offer, Elias attended the provincial village school with the other children
from Knoll Creek where he learned the basics of grammar, history, and
arithmetic. Yet, his education did not end there. Padraic Duana schooled his
children at home as well.
    Padraic exposed Elias and Danica to a more comprehensive
history of the continent of Agia and the seven nations that comprised it than
they were taught in their modest schoolhouse. In addition, he introduced them
to the higher mathematics, philosophy, etiquette, and composition, while his
closest friend, Doctor Phinneas Crowe, taught them anatomy and basic alchemy. As
a result, when Macallister and his son sauntered about boasting an expensive
education, forays to court, and noble blood, extolling their superiority in
every insolent roll of the eye and snicker, it nettled Elias to no end. Cormik
thought he and his were better than other men, and while Elias tried to follow
his father’s advice and ignore his childhood antagonist, at that moment he
hungered for nothing more than to strike him down.
    Perhaps Cormik saw something in Elias in that instant, for
his smile faltered and he leaned back on his heels, as if repelled by a
magnetic force.
    Danica, who had kept a close watch on Elias, grew alarmed. She
had been attempting to make eye contact with her brother, and offer him a
reassuring wink or nod, but he seemed intent on ignoring the crowd. She
recognized the change that stole over his bearing at once. His head bowed down
between hunched shoulders and he leaned forward, standing on the balls of his
feet, black eyes smoldering from under his pinched brow, and that meant one
thing—Elias had the rage on him.
    Though he was loath to admit it, her brother had a red
temper. While Elias did not anger easily or often, when he did he became a
force to be reckoned with.
    As soon as the next round began Elias leapt at Cormik with a
high slash angled at his head. Cormik scrambled away from the blow, startled by
its vehemence, and retorted with a hasty swing, designed not to make contact
but to push Elias back. Elias ignored the feint, skirting the wild attack with
a sidestepping lunge, and continued to press the offensive. He could have
easily driven Cormik from the circle and so scored a point, but Elias wanted
the satisfaction of striking his opponent.
    Elias’s incessant blows forced Cormik to adopt a defensive
style, but the distiller began to tire from his heavy-handed offensive. It
dawned on him that if he expended all of his energy prematurely it could cost
him the match in later rounds. He drew back, feigning exhaustion. When Cormik
assumed an offensive posture once again, Elias lunged. He cried out as he did
so and stamped his forward foot onto the granite platform with an audible clap.
Cormik, unable to dodge the attack, brought his rapier low to intercept Elias. But
the thrust did not come. Elias had stayed his hand.
    His overt, telegraphed lunge with the stamping foot
diversion had been designed to startle Cormik into drawing back or trick him
into a premature parry. Cormik realized his mistake mid parry and threw himself
into a hasty strafe, but was too late.
    After Cormik’s rapier swept harmlessly by, Elias had but to
extend his arm and poke Cormik in the belly, thus ending the third round.
    Danica hooted, the crowd buzzed with excitement. She
hazarded a glance at Macallister who stood statue-still and looked on with a
darkened expression. The wide brim of his rancher hat concealed most of his
features, but she could see the angry set of his jaw and all but hear his teeth
grinding.
    Elias wiped sweat from his brow. His fury had cooled, but he
had no intention of letting up. The taste of victory on his lips drove away any
thought of exhaustion, and he eagerly anticipated the look on Cormik’s face
when he realized that he had been beaten by a mere commoner. Needing only a
single point to win the match, Elias figured Cormik would fight